Wait For Me
by Muldoon22
Summary: Steve makes sure Natasha holds up a social responsibility.
1. Chapter 1

It was 11:30 at night and Steve was in his apartment, trying to get some sleep. He had returned from an exhausting mission in Turkey and craved some shut eye.

Fate would have it that his phone began ringing. Annoyed, he snatched it up and answered.

"Hello?" he grumpily answered.

"Evening, Mr. Stapleton. I'm Officer Callagan with the NYPD."

Mr. Stapleton. Ernie Stapleton. It was one of 5 aliases SHIELD gave Steve, so it must be involving one of his teammates.

"How can I help, Officer?" he asked, his tone more concerned.

"I'm calling in regards to a Olivia Rushton. Do you know her?"

Olivia Rushton was an alias for Natasha. "Yes, she is an acquaintance of mine, why do you ask?"

"Well, we have her in custody due to an incident here at the Rusty Mill Bar. She's requested we call you down to possibly release her into your custody."

"I see. What's the address of that bar?" Steve asked, picking up a pencil and notepad.

"It's down here on Jay Street. Would you be willing to come down?"

"Yes. I'll be there soon." and he hung up. Wondering what Natasha could be in trouble for, he slung on his leather jacket and grabbed his motorcycle keys, heading out the door.

* * *

Weaving through the late night traffic, he arrived at Jay Street and spotted three police cars with their sirens flashing. An officer approached him as he slowed down.

"Sorry sir, this is a crime scene, please move back."

"An Officer Callagan called me."

"Oh, you must be Mr. Stapleton. I'm Callagan, follow me."

Steve dismounted his bike and followed.

"What is she in trouble for, Officer?"

"She started a bar fight here. She's in the second car there."

Steve nodded and walked towards the car. Opening the door, she saw Natasha sitting in the back, handcuffed. She was clad in her typic yellow leather jacket and black tee. He sat down in the car and shut the door.

"Glad someone came." she said.

"What happened? Are you drunk?"

"I'm not drunk. Someone asshole wouldn't take no for an answer, so I punched him. He swung at me and cracked some guy in the face. Then shit hit the fan."

"Couldn't you have called Clint? Or Fury?"

"I tried Clint, no answer. And calling Fury is out of the question."

"Ok." he said, nodding. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, they typically release people into other people's custody upon request. So hopefully they agree to do that."

"Alright. Ill see what I can do. Sit tight." he exited the car and tracked down Callagan.

"So, Officer, would you be willing to release her into my custody?"

"It's a bit complicated. This is Miss Rushton's fourth assault related arrest in a month. If we were to release her to you, we'd have to make sure you get her to appear in front of a judge tomorrow at noon."

"I can make sure of that."

Callagan thought for a moment before sighing.

"Denton, bring the girl over." he said into his walky talky.

Steve watched as an officer opened the car door and brought Natasha out and over to them.

"Alright, Miss Rushton, you've caught a lucky break. We'll be releasing you to your friend here and he'll bring be bringing you in front of a judge tomorrow at noon for your sentence. You understand?"

She nodded. Callagan turned her around and uncuffed her. She rubbed her wrists.

"Mr. Stapleton is now your technical probation officer. Until noon tomorrow you obey what he tells you to do. Now get gone."

Steve thanked them as he took Natasha's arm in his hand. He helped her onto his motorcycle and sped off into the night.

* * *

They parked out in front of Steve's apartment building and he dismantled.

"Well, thanks for bailing me out of that. See you when I see you." she said, getting off the bike and attempted to walk away. Steve grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

She looked surprised. "Home. Why?"

"You're supposed to appear in front of a judge tomorrow. I have to keep you with me."

"Steve, I can just discard that alias and move on." she said, trying to shake him off.

"I gave them my word. People who disobey the law are the bad guys. Ad it would look bad on you if you did what they do."

She scowled at him. "You sure know how to guilt trip people." he let her go and she stormed into his apartment building, him following.

"You know if they find me guilty, I could go to jail for a month or pay a huge fine." she said, sitting down on one of his chairs once they got in his apartment.

"Then you serve the time or pay the fine. You aren't a bad guy, Nat. Don't peg yourself out to be one."

She looked at him, with a shocked expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nobody's believed in me like that before." she replied.

"Well, I believe in anyone who I know to be-" she interrupted him by placing her lips on his. Their actions quickly made their way to the bed.

* * *

They woke up at 10 the next morning. Without any resistance, Natasha went with Steve to the court at noon.

Steve sat outside the courtroom and watched as several people went in and out of the room, half of them walk away free, the other half shackled and chained, being prepped to be brought to jail.

Finally, Natasha came out. She was amongst the shackled and chained.

"Guilty, I see?" he asked. She requested the guards give Steve and her a minute. They complied.

"Sentenced to three weeks in jail. They say it's fair, considering I'd would have got 6 months."

"Nervous?"

"Who says I haven't been to prison before, Steve?" she asked him. His eyes went wide. She laughed.

"I'm joking, Steve. I'll survive."

Steve nodded. "Well, see you when I see you, yeah?" he began to walk away before she grabbed his arm with her cuffed hand.

"Steve, will you wait for me?" she asked, a bit hopeful.

"Sure, Nat. I'll wait." she smiled and kissed him on the cheek as the guards returned.

"Time to go, Miss Rushton." they said, taking her by the arms.

She sighed. "See you in three weeks." she said as the guards escorted her out to the prison transport.


	2. Chapter 2

**Three Weeks Later**

Natasha walked through the steel gate of the prison. Having paid her debt and spent the past 21 days in jail, she was looking forward to going home. When she left she was given her yellow jacket, her watch, jewellery and a phone. Outside, she looked around, hoping that Steve might have came to meet her. Instead, a bald man approached her.

"Natasha Romanoff?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm here on behalf of Steven Rogers. I'm afraid to inform you he has passed away."

Her eyes went wide. "That's not true. You're lying."

"I wish I was. I'm sorry."

She turned away and attempted to hold back tears. As she silently sobbed, the man began to chuckle.

Her head shot up and she angrily glared at him. "What the hell is so funny?!"

"I apologize for the morbid nature, but I ad to see if I was convincing." he said, his voice noticeably changing into a familiar tone.

The man reached behind his head and pulled on it, pulling until it revealed Steve under the mask. He pulled it all the way off, As well as the suit and tie he wore to reveal a black leather jacket.

"You sick bastard!" she said, attempting to hit him, but he blocked the blows.

"Sorry, but SHIELD just developed these new full body disguises that are being tested by us Avengers. Except you, considering you were serving hard time."

She couldn't help but laugh. He has the ability to melt away any resentment anyone would have towards him with his subtle charm.

"So, are you ready to leave?" he asked, offering her a bike helmet, which she accepted.

"I'm still mad at you. My time behind bars made me realize I don't enjoy being away from you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that for a long time." he said, kissing her. "Now come on, let's get going." the walked towards his motorcycle.

"Im guessing everyone back at the tower are waiting to tease me."

"They don't know you were in jail. I told them you went on a mission in Greece and was unsure of when you were returning."

She looked at him. "Steve Rogers, I think I love you."

"I give that impression to people. Need a hand?"

He helped her onto the bike and ignited the engine, roaring off back into the city.

_fin_


End file.
